


one small word is not enough for love

by thanksgodforgravity



Category: Outlander (TV), Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: A LOT of Angst, Don't read if it's not your thing, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-10
Updated: 2017-06-10
Packaged: 2018-11-12 13:21:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11162712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thanksgodforgravity/pseuds/thanksgodforgravity
Summary: Brianna Randall finds a box of letters under her parents' bed, letters that change her life forever.





	one small word is not enough for love

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first story. I wrote a multi-chaptered story some time ago but it was in italian so this is all new for me.  
> English is not my first language and I don’t have an editor… I’m very nervous but I’m looking forward to know what you think about it, so don’t hesitate sending me your opinions!  
> This is the first chapter of a very short story (3 or 4 chapters) and it's full of angst, so please be careful and don't read it if it's not your cup of tea!

She found the small, mysterious wooden box while cleaning under her parents’ bed.

It felt smooth in her hands, the earthy, familiar scent reminded her of distant days spent under the sun, picking herbs and staring at cloudless skies.  
The words “ _H.B 1903_ ” were barely visible under the thin layer of dust, worn out after so many decades and so many places.  
She delicately placed it on the bed and sat next to it, staring on the spotless wall in front of her, tapping her fingers against her thigh - feeling the eyes of the inanimate object on her.  
“Curiosity killed the cat”: she had been five when her father caught her in his office with a stack of letters in her hands. He had looked down at her, the disapproval in his eyes advising her to control her interest next time. In her defense, the letters had a strong perfume, almost nauseating and so different from her mother’s.

But that had happened so many years before and her father’s words weren’t as authoritative as they once were. She was alone in that room, and in complete control of her actions.  
Shrugging uncomfortably, as if her wool black sweater was suddenly too tight on her shoulders, she gave in and let curiosity kill her.  
Ironically, inside the box there were letters. A sign from the universe to convince her to leave the room and mind her own business, perhaps. However she didn’t believe in signs, much to the universe’s annoyance, and impulsively read the first one.  
_  
December 30, 1948_

_My precious dove,_  
My foolish heart was sure to know every single thing about love - the surreal awe that overwhelms you when you look at the face of your beloved, the inexplicable joy you feel bursting inside your heart at the sight of someone else’s smile, all these illogical emotions that don’t ask your permission to invade your whole being, refusing to be ignored.  
I thought I knew it all. Until I met you.  
You came to me on a rainy day at the end of November, the gloomy room of the hospital - with its foggy windows and cool air - giving the appropriate atmosphere to such a difficult birth.  
The pain was so intense that I focused entirely on the sound of the wind crashing against the thin windows, ignoring your father’s gentle words of reassurance and the doctor’s firm orders to push.  
All that mattered to me was to have enough strength to bring you to this world, for I knew I wouldn’t survive the torment of failure again.  
You stubbornly made your grand entrance, just as the clouds disappeared from the sky, and dramatically screamed like a banshee - you’ve always had a fine pair of lungs.  
But you weren’t the only one who saw the light for the first time that day my darling, I was reborn with you.  
You gave the word Love a different meaning - Love with you was hope. I had lost my faith as a consequence of all the painful injustice I had to face in my life and before you all I could see was my shattered soul on the ground, broken in a million tiny pieces beyond repair. 

_But my Brianna, you gave me a second chance at happiness.  
You made me whole again._

_I love you, I love you.  
Until the very end. _

 

The girl didn’t realized she was crying until she felt the tears falling on her fingers and she slowly let the piece of paper fall on her lap.  
What was she expecting? She knew whom the box belonged to, knew that it would only open a wound that wasn’t cicatrized yet - if cicatrizing such a wound was even possible.  
She glanced at the rest of the letters lying inside the box, her previous determination fading into the shattering emotions she was feeling at the moment.

She could feel her mother’s sweet voice whispering in her ear, lovingly caressing her soft hair, trying to calm her during a stormy night - so terribly frightening for a seven year old.  
“You have the courage of a lion, my red-haired lass.”, these simple gentle words had made her feel like the bravest of warriors in that moment, ready to defeat the most horrible monsters of the night.

And with her mother’s comforting presence in her heart, she decided to open the next letter.


End file.
